House prices levelling off

HOUSE prices are levelling off after seven years of rapid growth, according to new figures from one of the country's largest mortgage lenders.

House prices nationally rose by just 0.5% last month, according to the permanent tsb/ESRI house price index, compared with a rise of 1.5% in September last year.

Last month was the third consecutive month of relatively flat price increases and a further moderation is expected in the coming months.

The lender said that hikes of 20%-plus, which had been seen in recent years, was over and that house buyers could expect only moderate price rises next year.

"We have had huge house price growth in the past few years and there is a maximum level to which they can go,” permanent tsb's head of marketing Niall O'Grady said yesterday.

While nationally prices are levelling, the cost of a house in Dublin remains €100,000 more expensive that outside the city despite a fall in price last month. Prices in the capital grew by 16% in the past year and the average semi-detached house now costs €296,454. This figure could pass the €300,000 mark by year’s end.

The average price paid outside of Dublin was €195,439.

The average price paid for a house nationally in September of this year was €225,351, almost three times the €75,169 buyers were paying when the index was first complied in March 1996.